New York Markets After Hours

China cancels Japan minister's visit

Relations sour after Koizumi visits controversial shrine

LONDON (MarketWatch) -- China has reportedly called off a visit by Japan's foreign minister in apparent protest at Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visit to a controversial war shrine.

Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura was due in Beijing this month, but a Chinese spokesman said his country was "not in a position to receive him," the BBC reported on its Web site.

The move comes after Koizumi visited the Yasukuni shrine in central Tokyo on Monday, drawing the ire of China and South Korea. The shrine honors Japan's war dead, including 14 people judged as war criminals after World War II.

Tuesday, about 200 Japanese lawmakers also paid their respects at Yasukuni shrine, further fueling the controversy. Japan's Nikkei Stock Average ended lower Tuesday as the row escalated. See Asia Markets.

China's foreign ministry issued a statement on Tuesday condemning Koizumi's visit, the fifth since he became prime minister in 2001.

Such a move "randomly hurt the feeling and dignity" of those who were victims of World War II, and "seriously undermined Sino-Japanese relations," said the ministry statement, which appeared on China's People's Daily Web site.

The visit of Japan's foreign minister to China had been intended to repair relations between the two countries, which have been strained by an ongoing row about Koizumi's shrine visits, as well as disputes over gas fields and history text books, according to the BBC report.

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